This invention relates to preparing biopolymers and biopolymer blends by enzyme-mediated catalysis e.g., in a microorganism host.
Biopolymers are polymers that can be prepared via enzyme-mediated catalysis either in vitro or in a microorganism host such as a bacterium. These biopolymers are desirable because they are biodegradable and biocompatible, making them suitable for a number of applications. In a typical procedure, one or more nutrients is fed to bacterial cells containing polymerase enzymes capable of processing the nutrients to form the desired biopolymer. The biopolymer is deposited in the form of osmotically inert, intracellular granules that are then extracted from the cells. This procedure has been used, for example, to prepare homopolymers and random copolymers containing 3-hydroxy organoate units.